


Not That Kind of Task Force

by Brumeier



Series: Bite Sized Fic [122]
Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Attraction, Bookstores, Community: ushobwri, First Kiss, First Meetings, Friendship, Ghosts, M/M, Magic, Organ Transplantation, Prompt Fill, Witches
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-01
Updated: 2016-11-01
Packaged: 2018-08-28 09:10:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,712
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8439829
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Brumeier/pseuds/Brumeier
Summary: LJ Comment Fic for Literary Friday prompt: they first meet in a second-hand bookshopIn which ghosts and witches are real, Steve makes Danny a proposition that he can't walk away from even if he wanted to, and Danny has to ride to the rescue when Steve does something foolhardy.





	

“I’m telling you, it’s just a minor setback.”

“Loooosers,” Bethany said in a sing-song voice. “Maybe you should follow a real team.”

Danny crossed his arms over his chest. “I’m not going to abandon the Jets just because they’re having a rough start to the season.”

“Whatever. Admit they suck and move on. You’ll be happier.”

“No I won’t.”

The front door opened, bell jingling, and Danny eyed the guy that came in with appreciation. He was in shape without being overly-muscled, and his tight blue t-shirt showed off a stellar pair of biceps. And that face…definitely worth taking a second look.

“Dibs!”

Danny scowled at Bethany. “You can’t call dibs on a stranger.”

"Can. Did. He's a hottie."

He couldn’t argue against that. The guy _was_ a hottie, literally tall, dark and handsome. And he was heading right for the counter. Danny reached up to tap the Bluetooth on his ear, a reflexive action he didn’t even need to consciously think about anymore.

“Can I help you?” he asked, leaning forward next to the cash register.

“No way he’s gay,” Bethany whispered from her perch on the stool next to Danny’s. He waved her off with one hand as inconspicuously as possible.

“You must be the Jersey of Jersey Books,” the guy said with a grin. Damn, he was gorgeous!

“Danny.” Danny held out his hand. Nice, firm handshake. “Trenton born and bred.”

“Steve. Local.”

Danny just bet he was. Probably spent a good chunk of his time surfing or something, and imagining the man in a wetsuit was distracting to say the least.

“What brings a guy from Trenton out to the Islands?”

“My daughter.” Danny nodded his head at the frame on the counter, which held Grace’s latest school picture. “My ex and her husband moved here, and I followed.”

That was a simplified version of the story, which included a lot of angry accusations and hurt feelings. Bottom line was that wherever Grace went, so went Danny. Stan might be able to give Grace anything she wanted, but he wasn’t her father.

Steve nodded. “You sound like a good dad.”

“No, I sound like an exceptional dad, which I am.” Danny grinned, ignoring the faces Bethany was making at him. “So, what can I help you with today?”

Steve explained that he was looking for an obscure book for a friend of his as a housewarming gift. Danny didn’t have everything catalogued – it was a second-hand bookstore and people were often dropping books off or swapping them out – but he had a general idea where the book Steve wanted would be.

“Is it always this slow?” Steve asked, following Danny through the rows of shelves. 

“Not always.” Which was a lie. Danny didn’t have a huge clientele, just a few regular bibliophiles that would come in and spend their time browsing through the shelves. “In the age of the e-reader, not everyone appreciates the experience of reading an actual book.”

“It’s easier to carry around a hundred books on a Kindle,” Steve pointed out.

“Not as fun, though,” Danny shot back. “Ah. Here it is.”

The book was in the section reserved for paranormal romance, an aging copy that was seriously dog-eared. Whatever the price written on the title page, Danny was prepared to knock off a few bucks because it was in rough shape, and also because he wanted to leave a favorable impression. Regardless of what Bethany thought, there was at least a slim chance that Steve was gay and Danny figured he might as well play the odds.

“He’s gonna love this!” Steve enthused. 

“Your friend has interesting taste,” Danny said. He led the way back to the front.

“ _Paint the Sky with Stars_?” Bethany asked. “Guys don’t read vampire romances.”

Danny ignored her, ringing Steve up and being very casual about the discount. “You get tired of staring at a screen and want a real book, you know where to come.”

“I sure do. See you around, Jersey.” 

Danny watched Steve walk out the door with his purchase, and didn’t expect he’d ever see the man again.

*o*o*o*

Danny was on the stepladder stocking shelves and Bethany was listening to an audiobook – the latest Dresden novel – when the bell over the door jingled and Steve sauntered in.

“Mr. Handsome is back!” Bethany called out. “I still have dibs!”

Danny flipped her off and hoped she could see it in the security mirror, since they didn’t have a direct line of sight on each other.

“Back here!” he called out, and returned to shelving books. Someone had dropped off a whole box of government conspiracy and alien books, including _The Truth Behind Starportals and Wormhole X-Treme!_ by a guy named Giorgio Tsoukalos. Danny would have to remember to call Jerry and let him know; that guy never met a conspiracy he didn’t believe in.

“Aloha,” Steve said.

“Hi yourself.” Danny shelved the last book and climbed off the stepladder. “How’d your friend like the book?”

“He was really excited about it, thanks.” 

“So what can I do for you today?” Danny folded up the ladder and carried it to the storage room at the back of the store, Steve trailing after him.

“I’m looking for something on witches.”

“More supernatural romance?”

“Nonfiction, actually.” 

Danny gave Steve a once-over, just because he liked the view. “You don’t strike me as the kind of guy who believes in that stuff.”

Steve shrugged. “Maybe you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover.”

Bethany, who’d wandered back and was peeking around the end of a shelf to watch them, giggled. “Ooh! He got you on that one, Danno!”

“Really? You’re gonna come in my bookstore and make book humor? You do know I reserve the right to refuse service to anyone.” Danny blustered, secretly amused. Steve didn’t seem at all concerned by Danny’s pretense. 

“If you don’t have anything, man, just say so.”

“Oh, I got something for you.” 

Danny winced internally. That had come out sounding all wrong. Or maybe not, since Steve was now giving _him_ a once-over.

“That was a terrible line,” Bethany said. “You don’t deserve this guy, with lines like that.”

Danny ignored her and led the way to the nonfiction section. He did a quick scan of the shelves and pulled out five books on witches and witchcraft.

“I’ll take them,” Steve said after a cursory scan of the back covers. “But no discounts this time. I’ll pay full price.”

“If you insist.”

Danny rang him out and Steve carefully pocketed the receipt. Instead of leaving, though, he leaned against the counter. 

“Have lunch with me.”

Danny stared at him in surprise. That was pretty forward. Then again, Steve didn’t seem like the kind of guy to dither over making decisions, and Danny certainly wasn’t going to argue when an attractive guy wanted to take him to lunch.

“I could eat,” he said.

“I guess you have dibs,” Bethany pouted.

*o*o*o*

Steve took Danny to a food truck, which was less than glamorous, and he seemed to know the big Hawaiian guy that ran it, if their five minute conversation in Pidgin was anything to go by.

“You got food allergies?” the big guy asked. He pointed to Danny’s MedicAlert bracelet.

“Nope,” Danny replied easily. When he’d first started wearing the thing he’d been really self-conscious about it, but now it was just another part of who he was; he was pretty good with that these days.

Turned out the food truck produced some really excellent spicy shrimp. Danny had sweat beading up on his face but he was enjoying the meal.

“So tell me about yourself,” Steve said between bites. “Did you sell books back in Jersey?”

“No. I was a cop, actually. Detective.” There’d been a time Danny hadn’t been able to say those words without feeling hopeless. Being a cop had been everything to him, practically his whole identity. Losing that had taken a long time to get over. He still wasn’t quite there.

“From cop to bookseller? That’s quite the transition.”

Danny shrugged. “I did what I had to do.”

Steve put his elbows on the picnic table, watching Danny so intently it made him a little uncomfortable. 

“Have you always been able to talk to ghosts?”

Danny choked on his spicy shrimp, and had to take a long drink of water before he was able to respond.

“What? What kind of question is that?”

“I’ve seen her in your shop. Teenage girl in a pink hoodie. You were talking to her when I came in last week, even though you pretended you weren’t.” Steve pointed at the Bluetooth earpiece Danny wore.

No-one had ever seen Bethany, not in all the time they’d been together. They didn’t hear her, either, which was why Danny wore the earpiece. Better to have people think he was talking on the phone than talking to himself like a crazy person.

“How long have _you_ been seeing ghosts?” Danny countered.

“Since I was ten,” Steve said. “You?”

“I’ve…uh. I’ve never talked about this. To anyone.” Danny poked at the last couple of shrimp left on his paper plate.

Steve reached out and put his hand over Danny’s. “I’m not going to tell anyone. I’d really like to know, but you don’t even have to tell me if you don’t want to.”

He looked earnest, and sincere, and Danny wanted to take him at his word. 

“I don’t see ghosts, plural. Just Bethany. When she died I got her liver. She’s been with me since I woke up from surgery.”

“Injured on the job?” Steve asked.

Danny nodded. “Caught a bullet just under the edge of the vest. Lucky shot.”

It had ended his career as an officer of the law. And kept him from getting blind drunk when his marriage tanked not long after. If it hadn’t been for the combined efforts of Bethany and his brother Matt, Danny wasn’t sure what kind of shape he’d be in. They’d gotten him through the dark days.

“I have a proposition for you,” Steve said, pulling his hand back.

“I’m interested,” Danny replied with a smirk.

Steve grinned. “Not that kind of proposition. I’m putting together a task force, at the behest of the Governor.”

“You’re a cop?”

“Navy SEAL. Reserves.”

“Well, Mr. SEAL, I appreciate the offer but –”

“It’s not that kind of task force, either,” Steve interrupted. “We’ll be operating under the radar, so to speak. Looking into cases the HPD wouldn’t know how to deal with.”

Ah. “Like witches?”

“Exactly like witches. You being able to communicate with Bethany would be an asset. She can go places we can’t, feed us intel. Maybe talk with other ghosts.”

“So it’s really Bethany you want.”

Steve shook his head. “I’ve read your jacket. You were a top-notch detective. Ninety percent close rate. We could use your skills.”

Danny narrowed his eyes. “You already knew who I was? So this was what? A test? To see if I’d lie?”

“I want to do it,” Bethany said, appearing suddenly next to Danny. “Can I? Please? That sounds way more fun than hanging around a musty old bookstore every day.”

“Hey! I thought you liked the bookstore.”

“I do! But it’s boring.”

“That’s one vote for yes,” Steve said with a self-satisfied smirk.

“And here’s my vote for no.” Danny stood up and tossed his paper plate in the garbage. “Thanks for lunch.”

“Danny, wait.”

“No. You wait.” Danny jabbed a finger at Steve. “You bring your false pretenses into my shop and expect me to be grateful? I’ll stick with my books.”

“But Danny,” Bethany protested.

“No buts. You can decide what you want to do, but I’m done here.”

Danny didn’t like being led around by the nose. Steve could’ve been up front about what he wanted, instead of fishing for answers he already had. He didn’t need to be manipulated, and he didn’t want anyone doing him any favors.

He drove back to the bookstore, not caring that Steve had ridden with him and would be stranded.

*o*o*o*

The thing about ghosts, Danny had discovered, was death didn’t imbue them with any kind of insight about life. Or the afterlife. Bethany was the same sixteen year old she’d been before she died: self-centered, sometimes whiny, but incredibly big-hearted. And stubborn. So very stubborn.

“Steve said there’s a lot of paranormal activity on the islands. He doesn’t know why.”

“Steve said we could really help a lot of people with the task force.”

“Steve said the governor is a witch. Like, a real one and not just because she’s bitchy.”

“Steve said he could teach me how to surf.”

“Steve said the witch he’s looking for put a bad curse on someone, and they could die.”

“Steve said –”

“Enough!” Danny finally shouted. “I’m tired of hearing about Steve! I don’t care about Steve!”

“Come on, Danno,” Bethany wheedled. She was sitting on the counter next to the cash register, kicking her feet. “I know better than anyone how much you miss being a cop. This would be just like that, only I could help you. We could be a team.”

“Look. I understand you’re bored. I would be too in your position.” Danny didn’t know how to make her understand. “Maybe if Steve had been upfront with me. Maybe not. I guess we’ll never know.”

He’d had plenty of time to think about it. And Bethany was right, doing any kind of investigative work again would mean a lot to him. But he didn’t much care for Steve’s methods. Besides, Steve was a SEAL, not a cop. What did he know about running a task force?

As it turned out, not much.

Two nights later Danny was woken out of a sound sleep by Bethany yelling at him. 

“Danny! Wake up! Please, you have to wake up!”

He jerked awake, heart racing. “What is it? Is the house on fire?”

“It’s Steve! You have to help him!”

Bethany looked utterly panicked. Danny got out of bed and started getting dressed.

“What happened?”

“Steve tracked the witch down, and he went over there to stop her.”

“By _himself_?” Danny asked incredulously. “Even if she isn’t a witch, he can’t just go to a suspect’s house without backup.”

“He had me!”

“And?” Danny made a _hurry up_ motion with one hand while he pulled a clean shirt out of his dresser with the other. 

“And I scoped out the lady’s shed like he told me to, and saw that she had all kinds of jars and books in there, magic stuff. But when I went back to tell him he was gone.” Bethany bounced on her feet. “Can we go already?”

Danny scooped up his wallet and pulled his gun safe out of the closet. “Tell me the rest.”

“I had to look through the whole house for him, because I’m not tied to him like I am to you. All I have to do is think about you to get where you are. When I found him, he was all tied up and shoved in a closet. I don’t know what she did to him, but Steve was out cold. I couldn’t wake him up.”

Hopefully the alleged witch dosed him with something non-lethal that would keep him quiet and out of the picture for a little while. Danny needed time to get there, to formulate a plan. More importantly, he needed backup.

“Bethany, had Steve picked anyone for his task force yet?”

“Besides you and me, you mean?” 

“Don’t be smart.”

Bethany sighed, looking pointedly at the door. “Yes. He talked to a guy, and the guy said he’d have to get back to Steve about it.”

“Do you know where to find this guy?”

“Yeah, I do.”

“Then let’s go get him,” Danny said.

*o*o*o*

Danny didn’t know what line Steve used on Chin Ho Kelly to recruit him, but the guy dropped everything – he was on shift as a night watchman – when he heard Steve was in trouble. Bethany had told Danny that Chin, according to Steve, had been apprenticed to a local Kahuna but was rejected because of his insistence of integrating technology with the old practices.

Chin was a witch.

“I texted my cousin,” Chin said as he slid into the passenger seat of Danny’s car. “We can swing by and pick her up.”

“Is she a witch too?”

“No. She’s a touch psychic. I told Steve she’d be a good addition to the team. Plus she’s a rookie cop at HPD, so we’d have an in there.”

“Wonderful.” Danny wasn’t sure what he believed. Obviously ghosts were real, but he’d never thought much about the rest of it. Witches, psychics…were vampires and werewolves real too? It strained credulity.

Chin’s cousin Kono was young and slender and didn’t look like a cop. Chin assured Danny that she could hold her own in hand-to-hand, and she was a crack shot with a rifle.

“It’s nice to meet you,” she said politely. Danny noticed she didn’t offer her hand. “So what’s your mystical gift?”

“Bethany,” he replied. As soon as Kono was buckled in the backseat Danny headed for Wahiawa.

“What’s that?”

“Not a what, a who. She’s…she’s a ghost. My ghost. I sent her on ahead to keep an eye on Steve until we can get there.”

“Someday you’ll have to tell us that story,” Chin said.

“Someday,” Danny replied agreeably. He appreciated not having to tell his whole life story within the first five minutes of meeting these people.

They spent the thirty minute drive plotting out a strategy. They couldn’t just bust in and grab Steve; regardless of the circumstances, that was breaking and entering, and Danny had no interest in finding himself on the wrong side of HPD.

“Our best option,” Chin said. “Is for me to set up a binding circle around the house. If she’s a real witch, it’ll keep her from casting any spells.”

“How long will that take?” Danny asked.

“Not long. I’ll set up four tablets around the perimeter. They’re networked together, so one keystroke and the spell will be in place.”

“It’ll be up to us to provide a distraction while he does that,” Kono explained. “How you wanna do it?”

“Depends on where she lives.”

Danny expected a house on the edge of the jungle, isolated on all sides, but instead the alleged witch lived in a suburban neighborhood, although her house was at the edge of a heavily wooded area.

The neighborhood was quiet so late at night, most of the houses dark. Not the one they were looking for, though. There was a soft glow in the front windows, and Bethany was on the lawn waving him down.

Chin slipped out of the car and into the shadows, messenger bag slung over his chest, while Danny checked in with Bethany.

“You have to hurry! She took some of Steve’s hair and she’s working a spell or something in the kitchen. She’s gonna put the whammy on him!”

“All right, calm down. We’ve got this. Stay with Steve.”

Kono sidled over as Bethany disappeared. “So that was you talking to your ghost?”

“She said our witch is working a spell. We need to interrupt her. Lost dog?”

“Works for me.”

Danny pounded on the front door, and kept at it until he could hear angry muttering and footsteps. The door swung open and he got his first look at the so-called witch. He didn’t know what he’d been expecting, but a perky blonde woman with very large, very fake breasts certainly wasn’t it.

“Do you know what time it is?” She glowered at them, hand propped on her hip. She was wearing obscenely tight jeans and a long-sleeved button-down men’s shirt in a pale shade of lavender.

“I’m so sorry,” Kono said, and Danny had to fight to keep from staring at her. She sounded genuinely distraught. “But we’ve lost our dog, and your house is the only one with lights still on. Have you seen him?”

“No.” The woman tried to close the door but Danny stuck his foot in the way.

“Please. He’s a really old dog, we’ve had him for a long time.”

“We’d be devastated if anything happened to him,” Kono added. She reached out and grabbed hold of the woman’s hand. “Have you seen him?”

The woman tugged her hand away. “I haven’t seen your dog.”

Danny took a step forward, just across the threshold of the doorway. “But I bet you’ve seen our SEAL.” He hoped to hell that Chin had done his circle thing.

“Seal? I’m going to call the cops.” She started to turn away but then Kono pushed in beside Danny.

“Margo. You have to stop this.”

The woman turned, eyes narrowed. “How do you know my name?”

“I know everything about you,” Kono said. And yeah, now Danny could see the cop in her. The steely gaze, the coiled tension in her limbs. “I know the man you loved betrayed you. I know you’re angry. And I know you’re thinking about doing something that you can never take back, something that’ll stain your soul forever. Don’t do it.”

She got all that from a touch? Danny was impressed. And more than a little scared at how easy it would be for Kono to see what was really inside of him. He wasn’t sure he wanted to know.

“You don’t know anything about me!” Margo spat.

Kono nodded. “I know what it’s like to devote your life to someone, or something, and then have it taken away from you. It leaves a big hole, one you’re sure you’ll never be able to fill again. But you will. I promise you will.”

Margo seemed like she was teetering on the edge for a long moment, then her expression darkened and her hands came up and Danny was shoving Kono out of the way as Margo said some words in a foreign language. Gaelic, maybe? He waited for…something. But nothing happened.

Margo looked as surprised as Danny felt.

In the blink of an eye Kono had Margo restrained with zip ties and shoved into a chair. “All clear, cuz!” she shouted out.

"Danny!" Bethany appeared, looking frantic. "Something’s wrong!”

Danny raced after her, down a short hall and into the master bedroom. Bethany phased through the closet door and Danny yanked it open. Steve was curled up on the floor, hands and feet tied with some sturdy looking rope. His face was slack and it looked like he was barely breathing.

Bethany was crouched over him. “He shouldn’t still be out, the witch said so.”

“Steve. Hey, babe.” Danny knelt down, his bad knee protesting. He tapped Steve’s cheek with the back of his hand. “Time to wake up.”

There was no response, and Danny fished his cell phone out of his pocket to call for an ambulance.

“They can’t help him,” Bethany said. She had her head cocked to one side as if listening to something. “Whatever’s wrong…it’s not a doctor thing.”

“That’s not very informative, Bethany,” Danny said, phone in hand. He didn’t know what to do. Steve was clearly in some kind of distress, but what if Bethany was right and there was nothing physically wrong with him?

“Danny,” Kono said. “Can I squeeze in?”

He shifted to make room, and watched as Kono put a hand on Steve’s head. Her breath caught. 

“Huh. That’s new.”

“I don’t like new,” Danny said. “New is bad. What’s going on?”

“It’s hard to explain.” Kono closed her eyes. “It’s like…he’s almost untethered from his body. I’ve never felt that in anyone before.”

Bethany leaned in. “How do we get him back?”

Danny relayed the question. Kono took her hand off Steve’s head and opened her eyes.

“I’m honestly at a loss. None of us knows him well enough.”

Well, that wasn’t precisely true. Danny looked at Bethany. “You’ve spent a lot of time with Steve. Any suggestions?”

Bethany shook her head. “All he wanted to talk about was you.”

“What did she say?” Kono asked.

“Can I have a minute, here?” Danny shooed Kono and Bethany out of the room, and glared at Bethany so she’d know he didn’t want her ghost-peeping. He didn’t need an audience when he was about to do something incredibly foolish.

“I don’t know if you can hear me,” Danny murmured close to Steve’s ear. “But if you ever speak of this to anyone, I will un-tether you so fast your head will spin.”

He moved closer, bracing himself on one hand, and pressed his lips to Steve’s. It was stupid, and he blamed his daughter’s love of all things Disney for the idea that a kiss could solve anything. It wasn’t going to make him trust Steve, or start making goo-goo eyes at him, or fill the air with melodious birdsong while wild animals frolicked nearby. It wasn’t even…

Steve’s mouth started to move against Danny’s, his breath finally coming strong and steady.

Danny pulled back, eyes wide. “Holy shit, I can’t believe that actually worked!”

“Danny?” Steve blinked up at him, confusion plainly written on his face. 

“You and I need to have some words, my friend.”

*o*o*o*

In the parlance of a sixteen year old ghost, Chin ‘put the whammy’ on Margo, assuring that she couldn’t use magic anymore. Kono promised they’d be keeping an eye on her, so she wouldn’t try anything non-magical against her ex-boyfriend either. No-one died, and no-one needed to go to the hospital. As far as Danny was concerned, everything worked out all right.

“So now what?” Bethany asked Danny. “You see it, right? Steve needs us. You, me and Steve should be working together, he gets in too much trouble on his own.”

“Clearly.” Danny said.

“Clearly what?” Chin asked. He’d packed up his tablets and joined the rest of them standing around Danny’s car.

“Clearly Lone Wolf McGarrett needs some backup,” Danny explained. Steve scowled. “Don’t give me that look. You were trussed up like a Christmas turkey and that witch had plans for you. Not the good kind of plans, either.”

“If the offer for the task force is still open, I’m in,” Chin said. “We could do some good.”

“I’m in, too,” Kono added. She gave Steve a quick once-over. “I have a lot of questions.”

“Joining the task force isn’t a guarantee of answers,” he replied.

“I’m so in!” Bethany was all smiles.

“The teenage ghost is a go, which surprises absolutely no-one.” Danny got a little thrill just talking about Bethany, because Chin and Kono believed she was there even though they couldn’t see her. It was nice not having to pretend.

Steve nodded. “Which just leaves you.”

Danny looked at each of them in turn, and then he nodded too. “I’m in, if only to provide some much-needed, cool-headed leadership and make sure no-one tries side-stepping the law.”

“Hey!” Steve protested. “I’m the boss here. The Governor gave me means and immunity. Me. Not you.”

“Po-tay-to, po-tat-o,” Danny said with a wave of his hand. “First order of business: going to bed. I sincerely hope that not all of our cases will be happening after dark.”

“Danno needs his beauty sleep.” Bethany grinned.

“Who’s Danno?” Steve asked.

Danny shook his head. That was a conversation for another day. After he’d had a good chunk of sleep. “Everyone riding with me, get in. Everyone riding with Steve, good night.”

Only Bethany got into Danny’s car, which meant he could head straight home. Win-win. Well, maybe if Bethany had been too tired to talk.

“You kissed him, didn’t you? Just like Prince Charming.”

“Smug is a terrible look on a ghost, so stop with that face. And secondly, I’m not talking about it. Not now, not ever.”

“Danny and Ste-eve, sittin’ in a tree,” Bethany said in a sing-song voice.

Danny wondered what the hell he was getting himself into. Bad enough dealing with a ghost every day, but now he could add a psychic, a witch, and an impulsive SEAL to the mix.

How was this his life?

**Author's Note:**

>  **AN:** Written for [Monster Fest at You Should Be Writing](http://ushobwri.livejournal.com/2016/10/21/), for Ghosts, Ghouls and Wraith Day.


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